Diabetes drug represents ‘seismic shift’ in care

A drug that can delay the onset of Type 1 diabetes has been approved in the US, raising hopes for sufferers in Britain.

Medical regulators in this country are now considering licensing the teplizumab immunotherapy drug under a fast-track scheme.

Chris Askew, chief executive of Diabetes UK, said the progress made in the US “is the start of a seismic shift” in how the life-threatening condition is treated.

Teplizumab reprogrammes the immune system so that it no longer attacks and destroys insulin-producing cells in the pancreas, dealing with the root cause of type 1 diabetes for the first time.